It might have been hard to decide which candidate should replace retiring Office 21 Judge Kevin McKenney on the Santa Clara County Superior Court, but Dennis Alan Lempert made it easy. He’s on the ballot as “D A Lempert” to hoodwink voters into thinking he’s a prosecutor like his opponent, actual Deputy District Attorney Julianne Sylva.

Lempert copped to the ploy in interviews, but when columnist Scott Herhold called him on it, he wrote a self-righteous letter to the editor about “my name”. Colleagues say he never signs anything “D A” (without periods, no less). It’s a caricature of the stereotype lawyer playing technically legal games. For judge? No way.

Fortunately, Sylva is the real deal. She has prosecuted violent criminals but spent much of her career working on child abduction cases and helping communities fight human trafficking, domestic violence and truancy. She will take the bench and the cause of justice seriously.

In closed door talks, Sen. Dianne Feinstein agreed to a major new water policy for California that sells out the Delta and guts Endangered Species Act protections. Sen. Barbara Boxer is fighting the good fight to remove the rider from her comprehensive water infrastructure bill, but it may take a presidential veto.